Reports confirm that Ric Flair’s wife was arrested in a domestic dispute last night. According to police reports, Ric Flair sustained minor injuries which he claims came from the hands, feet, and teeth, of his wife Jacqueline Beems Fliehr. Mrs. Flair has been released on bond.

Jacqueline Beems is the fourth wife of Ric Flair. The two were married back in November and honeymooned on the Hulk Hogan Australian tour. This would be the fourth arrest for a member of the Ric Flair member in the last several years. Ric, as well as two of his children have been arrested for a variety of different issues going back to 2005 when Flair was arrested after a road rage incident.

The life and times of the “Nature Boy” Ric Flair are really beyond comical at this. The fall from grace for Ric Flair has been a dark discussion in the pro wrestling world for the last several years. Even before his retirement, it appeared that Flair had a real problem coming to grips with his age and the end of his career. Flair wanted to continue wrestling and living like a 1980s rock star, even though he was entering his sixties and was in financial dismay. Flair has said many times in interviews that he prefers to, “live like the Nature Boy,” regardless of financial consequences. Unfortunately this hard living has cost Ric Flair money, friends, wives, and a lot of respect.

I try to avoid writing about things like this because honestly, I don’t think it is anyone’s business. However, Ric Flair changed those rules when he wrote about other people’s families in his book. Flair continues to take cheap shots even as recently as in a Shoot Interview where Flair blasted Bret Hart for his family affairs. At that point, I felt as if Flair opened the door to talk about his failed marriages, his son Reid’s problems with drugs and the law, and his financial peril. For a guy that takes so much glee in criticizing other pro wrestlers and their families, Ric Flair has taken things to a whole new level with his own troubles.

I can tell you that privately, there are quite a few people that aren’t surprised by this. Flair had a very messy divorce with his third wife Tiffany in 2008. Flair has openly voiced his displeasure of the marriage and alimony payments to Tiffany. Even Ric Flair’s closest friends took a double-turn when Flair announced his new marriage last November. For a guy that was just recently taken to the cleaners by his third wife and was already in financial troubles, nobody could comprehend why Ric Flair would want to even risk another messy divorce and alimony payment at his age.

Nobody has publicly talked about exactly what went down between Ric Flair and his wife that led to the domestic dispute. Knowing Ric’s reputation, one could easily presume that the argument had something to do with either money or an extra-curricular activity that Ric has been known for in his prior married years  (and after all, he is the “dirtiest player in the game”). Regardless of the reasons, I cannot even begin to tell you the public hit that Ric Flair has taken over the last several years due to incidents like this. All of his great years inside of the wrestling ring have been forgotten in exchange for a wrestler that is looking more and more like Randy the Ram with each day that goes by.

I just hope the next time that Ric Flair wants to criticize the house of someone else that he takes a hard look inside of his own.

Headlocks and Eye Gouges – I will be back on Pro Wrestling Radio this Monday night February 23 at 8 PM/EST live. I will recap the Elimination Chamber show and talk WrestleMania 26. Call in with a question or comment at 1-877-800-8834. Listen live at http://www.tinyurl.com/PWradio at 8 PM/EST this and every Monday night.

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This past Sunday night, 1-14-10, TNA Wrestling presented their second PPV under the Hogan/Bischoff era, featuring an eight man tournament to determine the number one contender for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship! Who will make up one half of the world title main event matchup at Lockdown? Who will be the champ heading into Lockdown? Let’s get to the review and find out!

Eight Card Stud Quarter Final Match: “The Pope” D’Angelo Dinero Defeated Desmond Wolfe

TNA decided to open thing up with the first of four quarter final matches in the Eight Card Stud tournament, and I must say, this was a great way to open up the evening! These two had a great matchup last month at Genesis, but this topped that! Both men had their supporters, but Pope was super over! Nice back and forth action between both men featuring a very intriguing clash of styles, with Wolfe’s technical excellence topped off by Pope’s fast paced, aerial assault! Early in the match, Wolfe planted Pope with a sick, and I mean sick DDT! Many near falls starting about half way through the bout, climaxing with a beautiful superplex from the tip tip turnbuckle! After about 15 minutes of excitement, Pope hit a neckbreaker on Wolfe from the second rope, and then hit the DDE for the 1…2…3! Again, great match to open up the show! (***1/2)

Eight Card Stud Quarter Final Match: “The Blueprint” Matt Morgan (C) Defeated Hernandez (C)

Interesting contest here, featuring the current TNA World Tag Team Champions going one on one with one another. Typical big man vs. big man action in the early going which was a bit slow for my liking, with both men trying to overpower the other, but things really picked up in the final few minutes or so when Hernandez elevated Morgan up for a suplex, holding him up for a good 30 seconds before plating him down onto the canvas! Man this guy’s strong! After this, Hernandez hit his patented suicide dive over the top taking Morgan out on the ramp! Hernandez then sold a shoulder injury, which Morgan capitalized on by thrusting him shoulder first into the turnbuckle and rolling him up (using the tights) for the win. After the match, Hernandez walked out on him. Expect a possible feud between these two, which wouldn’t be too bad as long as the memorable spots they pull off outlast, or at least, override the methodical action. (***)

Eight Card Stud Quarter Final Match: Mr. Anderson Defeated “The Olympic Gold Medalist” Kurt Angle

Although I had expected this to have been a good bout, this completely surpassed my expectations! Great matchup here, which not only featured great wrestling action, but told a great in ring story as well with great ring psychology! Perfect balance here. Anderson busted Angle wide open early in the match after digging Angle’s dog tag into his forehead, and believe it or not the EMTs didn’t dive into the ring and clean him up! After this point, most of the match featured Anderson beating on an injured Angle, until Angle came back with momentum, hitting 3 German suplexes in a row! The match went about 20 minutes or so, and featured plenty of back and forth action at this point in time. Earlier in the match, Anderson had attempted to undo the turnbuckle pad, but the ref caught him. As the ref put it back on, Anderson undid the opposite one! Crafty heel work at its finest! After a very intense false finish, featuring Anderson kicking out of the Angle Slam, Angle charged at him, but Anderson sidestepped him sending him face first into the exposed turnbuckle! He hit the Mic Check for the win. Kind of disappointed that Anderson went over, but I guess it wasn’t exactly what you’d consider a clean victory. After the match, Anderson laid Angle’s dog tag on his chest, and then spit on it before leaving the ring! Looks like this feud will continue and rightfully so! IO can’t wait to see the intense promos and even matches that this will bring in the future! (***3/4)

Eight Card Stud Quarter Final Match: Abyss Defeated Mick Foley In A No DQ Match

Before this match began, Eric Bischoff told both Abyss and Foley that if they didn’t use the barbed wire baseball on one another, Abyss would be unmasked on IMPACT! Semi intriguing, much like it was when Abyss spoke for the first time. Throughout the match here itself, Abyss seemed very hesitant in doing any sort of physical maneuver to Foley because of their friendship. Foley tried his best to fire the monster up. Overall, this match was nothing like their Monster’s Ball matchup at Bound For Glory. This only featured a single chair shot and the ending, where Abyss won with the Black Hole Slam by planting Foley into a pile of tacks. The match did tell a good story though, and everything done made perfect sense storyline wise. After the match, Abyss picked the tacks out of the body of Foley. By the way, no one succeeded in using the barbed wire baseball bat! This does create intrigue for IMPACT this Thursday night. Will Abyss be unmasked? (**)

The Nasty Boys Defeated Team 3D

I’m not going to lie, this match pretty much sucked bad! Can’t believe their weren’t any sort of hardcore stipulations here, for that’s the only way this match could have been watchable whatsoever. The Nasty Boys were very sloppy in the ring (timing, speed, bumps, and all) and you could really tell that Team 3D was pretty frustrated with this. After waking up from a 10 minute nap, I couldn’t believe my eyes! Guess who threw in a helmet allowing Sags to use it and get the pin? “The Mouth Of The South” Jimmy Hart! I personally have no problems with him being involved in TNA, but why manage The Nasty Boys? How’s that going to help elevate any younger talent, which should be the purpose of legends nowadays? It isn’t! (*1/2)

Eight Card Stud Semi Final Match: “The Pope” D’Angelo Dinero Defeated “The Blueprint” Matt Morgan

Another interesting clash of styles here, this time featuring the high flying ability of Pope mixed with the power game of “The Blueprint”. Slower match here in the early (these two already wrestled once mind you) but again really picked up in the final few minutes, featuring a vicious lariat from Morgan taking Pope’s head off as he went for the DDE! Very close count here! Then, Morgan went for the Carbon Footprint, but Pope sidestepped him causing him to ge entangled in the ropes. Pope hit a beautiful DDE for the win! (***)

Eight Card Stud Semi Final Match: Mr. Anderson Defeated “The Monster” Abyss

Quite ironic that these two also faced one another last month at Genesis. Although this was better than that match, there was really nothing memorable whatsoever that went on. Nice ring psychology on the part of Anderson though, who worked on the knee of Abyss throughout the entire matchup, bringing him down in size. After some fairly formulaic stuff, Anderson blinded Abyss with the mask, kicked him in the injured knee, hit the Mic Check, which consequently earned him the victory. (**1/2)

“The Phenomenal” AJ Styles (C) With Ric Flair Defeated “The Samoan Submission Machine” Samoa Joe To Retain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship With Eric Bischoff As The Special Ref

Pretty damn shocked this wasn’t the main event, but I guess Pope and Anderson needed some time to recuperate. Overall, I wouldn’t say that I was disappointed with this matchup, but it defiantly wasn’t on caliber with the matches these two have had in the past. This seemed to be a bit more tones down, with a lot more focus on ring psychology and telling a story, which comes with the new found territory I guess. I really did appreciate the balance though. Nice heel work on the part of AJ as well as intensity on the part of Joe. Both men went back and forth exchanging offense in the early going, with Joe eventually picking up momentum with a suicide dive onto AJ on the outside, sending him crashing hard into the guardrail! Soon after, AJ began to work on Joe’s knee, after Flair rammed it into the ring post behind Bischoff’s back. This is where AJ presented excellent ring psychology, with the assistance of Flair at ringside. Later Joe came back with momentum, and the two fought back and forth offensively once again. Finally, Joe got AJ up for the Muscle Buster and connected, but Flair pulled Bischoff to the outside. Bischoff preceded in punching Flair right in the nose! The distracted Joe though who grabbed Bischoff in frustration. Aj hit the Pele and the Styles Clash, forcing Bischoff to make the three count. Bischoff was very, very hesitant. Again, not as epic wrestling wise as these two have done in the past, but this was a great match nevertheless which told a great story. Again, perfect balance in my opinion. (****)

Eight Card Finals: “The Pope” D’Angelo Dinero Defeated Mr. Anderson To Become The Number One Contender For The TNA World Heavyweight Championship

Before the match began, Pope was attacked by Hall and Waltman backstage. They said they’re coming for Hogan next. Nice way to incorporate them into the PPV without having them become too heavily involved. Anderson beat on Pope for the majority on this main event, being that Pope was injured at the hands of “The band”. pope was certainly fighting Against All Odds! Pun Intended! Slow 25 minute match, but told a great story. Last few minutes were Very intense with Anderson kicking out of the DDE and Pope kicking out of the Mic Check! Finally, Pope hit another DDE for the victory! Pope wins! He will now face AJ for the title at Lockdown! Should be awesome! (***3/4)

Overall, I felt that this wasn’t a great PPV, but defiantly a very good one! The major matches seemed a bit toned down and told more of a story, but there was still plenty of action so no problem. Although it’s still fat too early to comment on how exactly the Hogan/Bischoff era will effect TNA, if this is any indication of that, I’m happy! Very good balance between wrestling and psychology. Very good PPV overall! (7.5/10)

Todd Frizzell is from Columbus Ohio, and has been a huge professional wrestling fanatic for the last ten years. Todd is very interested in all aspects of pro wrestling, including what goes on when the cameras aren’t rolling. Todd is very excited to write about his passion, and will try his best to entertain and provoke the wrestling fans.

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This Sunday night TNA Wrestling will present their second PPV as far as the Hogan/Bischoff era goes. This PPV will feature a very special Eight Card Stud Tournament to determine the number one contender for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. In addition, the TNA World Heavyweight Championship itself will be on the line in the main event! In just under forty eight hours the road to Lockdown officially begins! Let’s run down the card…

Team 3D VS. The Nasty Boys

If nothing else, this should be a historic meeting between the legendary teams. May not be the most entertaining matchup in the world, but if given some sort of no disqualification stipulation it could be fun. These two teams have had pretty fair buildup for this match featuring a few great promos, so this match should defiantly have a lot of intensity and emotion involved. Hopefully this will become some sort of a wild street fight around the entire building. I couldn’t see it any other way.

Eight Card Stud First Round Match: “The Blueprint” Matt Morgan (C) VS. Hernandez (C)

In the first matchup of the eight card stud tournament, current tag team partners as well as TNA World Tag Team Champions may just find out who’s the backbone of their team, as these two athletic big men take center stage. I like how TNA’s putting the tag champions in a match together here, really playing off of the whole “luck of the draw” theme for Against All Odds as well as this tournament. Should be a decent match, though probably pretty forgettable.

Eight Card Stud First Round Match: “The Pope” D’Angelo Dinero VS. Desmond Wolfe

Last month at Genesis, these two probably had the second best match of the night, so I expect nothing less this Sunday. In my personal opinion, these are two of the most gifted performers on the TNA roster, so I am really looking forward to seeing this rematch. Not much of a story line has been set between these two since Genesis, but because of that match they will always have beef with one another. Expect Wolfe to target Pope’s injured knee as well, being the true ring technician that he is. I defiantly see Pope going over here because, in my opinion, he’s the favorite to win the entire tournament. I see him as the next world title challenger and rightfully so.

Eight Card Stud First Round Match: Mick Foley VS. “The Monster” Abyss

Four months ago at Bound For Glory, these two had one of the most brutal matches TNA Wrestling had seen in quite some time. If given some sort of hardcore stipulation, this would be a very entertaining match for the bloodthirsty, hardcore wrestling fan. Otherwise, this match should be very intriguing on a story line standpoint. It is no secret that Mick Foley and Eric Bischoff are moral enemies, but remember, Foley must comply to Bischoff’s every demand because the fate of both Abyss and Jeremy Borash are in his hands. Expect the possibility of Bischoff getting involved here.

Eight Card Stud Qualifying Match: “The Olympic Gold Medalist” Kurt Angle VS. Mr. Anderson

Ever since his recent inception into TNA at Genesis, Mr. Anderson has really shown his true colors, through his brash, arrogant, self-centered, cocky attitude. This Sunday night, Anderson will be forced to put up or shut up and put his money where mouth is, as he faces one of the greatest wrestlers on this planet, “The Olympic Gold Medalist”, Kurt Angle! This past Thursday night on IMPACT, both Angle and Anderson were tag partners as they faced the team of Hernandez and Desmond Wolfe. Throughout the duration of the match, both men ultimately came to blows, with Anderson getting in a cheap shot on Angle, taking the pin, and heading for the hills! Angle has got to have retribution on his mind, and will have his chance this Sunday night on Pay Per View! This should turn out to be a really good match, if given enough time, and should feature phenomenal ring psychology.

AJ Styles (C) With “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair VS. “The Samoan Submission Machine” Samoa Joe For The TNA World Heavyweight Championship!

In the past, these two TNA pioneers have had some of the greatest battles in recent memory. Now, nearly 10 years after the inception of TNA, these two will go one on one once again, but this time AJ’s got “The Nature Boy” in his corner. Ever since the partnership between Flair and Styles began, AJ has transformed into Ric Flair the second, and Samoa Joe is none too happy with this! After several tremendous promos between these two over the past several weeks, this has got to be the first match between these two with this much animosity involved! Last week on IMPACT, Flair and Styles double teamed Joe, leaving his laying in the center of the ring. Joe will have revenge on his mind walking into the IMPACT Zone this Sunday night! As always, this should be an incredible main event, between two phenomenal performers, and with the recent history involved, should tell a great story as well! Sounds like the perfect balance too me, doesn’t it??? By the way, Eric Bischoff recently announced the he would be the special guest referee for this match. I’m guessing he’ll cost Joe the match, but I’m still very intrigued to tune in and find out!

Overall, this has the potential to be a pretty exciting PPV. I love tournaments, so that’s a huge plus! I also really like the main event. Expect Hogan to show up with Scott Hall and Sean Waltman, considering he knocked them both out last week. Maybe even a Kevin Nash return. Remember, Sting is still looming in the rafters. Could he make his presence known Sunday night??? I recommend check out Against All Odds this Sunday. I’d say it’s worth it, but don’t take my word to the grave! Remember, this is TNA! Expect the unexpected, and throw logic out the window! TNA has been doing a better job with this lately, but that’s another story for another time. Enjoy!

Todd Frizzell is from Columbus Ohio, and has been a huge professional wrestling fanatic for the last ten years. Todd is very interested in all aspects of pro wrestling, including what goes on when the cameras aren’t rolling. Todd is very excited to write about his passion, and will try his best to entertain and provoke the wrestling fans.

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The tumultuous post WWE WrestleMania 24 career of the “Nature Boy” Ric Flair has hit another bump on the rocky road of tragedy. Independent professional wrestling company, Ring of Honor filed suit last week against Ric Flair seeking in excess of over $40,000. Sooner or later, Ric Flair is going to run out of old wrestling belts to auction off and cover these debts.

Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com broke the story last week. The financial situation between Flair and ROH has been alleged in the past, yet ROH took no legal actions until now. The suit alleges that Flair did not live up to his end of a deal. I guess over the last 14 months when Flair questions the integrity of his rival peers, that his own integrity doesn’t matter. Flair has done at least two video shoot interviews where he questions the integrity of Bret Hart, and in another brings up some horrible accusations about Hart’s relationship with his family. Way to go champ!

The crux of the lawsuit is that ROH paid Ric Flair an advance of his booking fees for several months. ROH thought they had Flair locked up when they announced a television deal with HDNet. Flair cut promos on the website and at house shows proclaiming to be the commissioner of ROH. Well Flair’s political tenure in ROH ended after one taping. The lawsuit alleges that while the company paid Flair for appearances, he just simply made a casual appearance in front of a live audience, resigned his post, and quit. According to the suit, Flair was paid $35,000 for the television appearances yet only made the one.

The lawsuit also alleges that Flair was paid $10,000 to make an appearance at ROH’s July 2009 Montreal event. Flair never appeared, nor returned the money. I am not sure how that works in the crazy logic of Ric Flair, but it sounds like theft where I come from. Maybe like his coming out of retirement, if it doesn’t happen in the states than it really doesn’t count right?

Mike writes what a lot of people suspected in that Flair’s association with ROH was based on his son Reid Flair getting a wrestling gig with the company. Reid Flair , an amateur great never realized his potential after several arrests which included being caught with drug paraphernalia. Once it became clear that the relationship between Reid and ROH wasn’t going to work, it appears that Nature Boy became disinterested and conveniently forgot about the money he was paid in advance to appear for the company.

I am actually surprised at the amount of money of the lawsuit. I had rumors that ROH had paid Flair over $100,000 for appearances that Flair never lived up to. I don’t know that to be true or not true. It is possible that Flair did pay some of that money back, likely concluding that a little more than half should be okay for the Nature Boy. I don’t know one way or the other, but it looks like Flair is on the hook for a lot less than most people thought the final amount would be.

The lawsuit is just another financial bump on Ric Flair’s rocky road since losing to Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 24 and “retiring.” Since the match, Flair has been divorced and reportedly pays an outrageous amount of alimony per month, lost money in a financial investment business, and has had to resort to auctioning off one of his old NWA belts on the Internet to pay off some personal debts. Apparently Ric Flair loved The Wrestler so much he has patterned his life after the movie.

I also want to make clear that I don’t have a whole lot of sympathy for Ring of Honor in this mess. As someone that worked in pro wrestling for over a decade, I can tell you that the majority of wrestling promoters are about the least honest people you will ever meet. Maybe it’s karma or maybe it was just bad business for Ring Of Honor. However, I don’t have a whole lot of sympathy for a company that would pay Ric Flair $10,000 for simply walking to the ring and signing autographs, yet pay the talent who break their bodies on a weekly basis a few hundred bucks and cut their pay on top of it.

Wooo!!!!!!!!!!!!

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The hits just keep coming in TNA Wrestling. Radio personality and Hulk Hogan’s BFF, Bubba the Love Sponge was reportedly attacked by TNA female pro wrestler Awesome Kong in the locker room at the TNA Impact tapings. Bubba’s comments on Twitter about the Haiti disaster sparked the rather large giant of a woman to attack and punch the radio personality.

The news comes  two weeks after Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff officially took over the company. As part of the new change in direction, Bubba was hired to replace TNA interviewer Jeremy Borash on backstage interviews. The relationship between Bubba and TNA has been anything but smooth since the hiring. The latest turn of events is something that was likely inevitable if you follow Bubba or his recent comments about TNA.

It all started after the Haiti disaster when Bubba the Love Sponge wrote on his Twitter, “f*ck Haiti.” Bubba then went on a rant about the country using all of these supplies and money on Haiti while there are plenty of problems in America. Bubba also suggested that instead of giving money to Haiti that people donate to local Big Brothers and Big Sisters chapters. The comments immediately got him heat with the company and he was told by TNA not to come to work.

“Was suppose to be at the prod meeting @11 they called and said not 2 come??? This is all because of my Haiti comments Sorry people can’t handle the truth. And what does my Haiti comments have to do with tna wrestling. I didn’t say them on dixies air. I don’t think tna is ready 4someone like me. I shoot hard from the hip and ms Carter (although i have a ton of respect 4her) has never had a guy that is as outrageous as I am and has a nationwide delevery [sic] method. So right now I would describe our relationship like oil and water. And it’s not good. “I just don’t understand how I can b in trouble for my opinon,” wrote BTLS.

Bubba did wind up going to the tapings Monday night in Orlando.This is where the fight went down with BTLS and Kong. Kong has been active trying to raise money for relief in Haiti. Somehow or another, the two wound up getting into it with the 5′7, 270 pound wrestler punching Bubba. Both Bubba and Awesome Kong were sent home from the tapings following the incident.

I checked out Bubba’s show to hear if he would comment on the fight. He didn’t until Hulk Hogan called into the show. Hogan seemed to have a good time poking fun at Bubba for getting punched. Bubba then claimed it was a sucker punch. Hogan continued to ride him and said that Bubba ran out of the locker room screaming as he was getting beaten up by Kong. Bubba then responded that he would get his attorney involved if he could get his hands on a video tape. Hogan then tried to change gears and calm him down but Bubba didn’t seem amused in the least.

Honestly, by all accounts it sounds like Bubba was in a real tough spot. What is he supposed to do when Awesome Kong is attacking him? He would get pummeled by the guys in the TNA locker room if he hit her back. If he just sits there and takes it, he got beat up by a woman. There really is no good option for Bubba in that situation other than to do what Hogan said he did, and that was run.

Bubba had been a big TNA supporter on his show for years until the two sides had a falling out last year. Someone called into his show and revealed that Kurt Angle’s ex-wife and Jeff Jarrett were living together. Immediately TNA canceled an appearance by Matt Morgan later that morning on his show. Bubba got hot and had some choice words for Dixie Carter and TNA after the incident.

Everything seemed smoothed out when Hogan came on board. Bubba went out of his way to promote TNA and speak well of Dixie. Hogan even got Bubba a gig as a backstage interviewer. However, it did not go well according to Bubba. The day after his TNA debut, Bubba was critical of the company and claimed that he was promised a different kind of a role in the company. He thought that he would be conducting more shoot-style promos rather than scripted promos. Bubba talked at that point about his future being in doubt with TNA. It sounded to me at that time that he was done, but apparently the two were trying to work things out.

I have to put all of the blame here on TNA. Bubba is a radio personality and gives his opinions for a living. Nobody has to agree with what he says, but he should be allowed to say whatever he wants. Anyone in TNA Wrestling could tune into his radio show for five minutes and know that the guy was outspoken and a bit of a loose cannon. Kong attacked Bubba because she felt she could get away with it. That may have flied with someone with a pro wrestling background but Bubba is a radio personality doing this part time. In 2010, TNA can’t just let their wrestlers attack someone for something said that they didn’t agree. It’s just a different time.

I have seen many incidents like this over my years in pro wrestling. There have been many guys like Bubba that say things that get them in trouble. It isn’t because they are bad guys but it is because they just don’t understand. I have seen many wrestlers take authority into their own hands and slap someone around for it. The big difference there is that the person that was slapped around was so hungry to have a pro wrestling career that they took their lumps and kept quiet, out of fear of being blackballed. This is a part time gig for Bubba so his tolerance for getting punched by another wrestler is going to be a lot less than someone else.

There were reports a few weeks back of Awesome Kong having words with Lacey Von Erich over a mistake she made. It is one thing for her to approach people as a leader, but it is another thing to do it as a bully. Reportedly there were no ramifications for this, so the fact that Kong did it again at another level doesn’t surprise me. The bad news here for Kong is that she attacked the best friend of her boss.

At the same time, Hulk Hogan seemed to be laughing it off when he called into Bubba’s show. Up until that point I thought Kong was done.It sounded like Hogan just chalked it up to “wrestlers just being wrestlers,” and is likely going to let it go. At this point it looks like that is the attitude the company will be taking and Awesome Kong may have dodged a huge bullet there.

I think that attacking someone verbally or physically because they disagree with your viewpoint is just being a bully. Sure, at 270 plus pounds I highly doubt Kong has been bullied in years so maybe she just doesn’t get it. I can appreciate her passion for Haiti, but is it really worth walking up to someone that is a complete stranger and punching them in the mouth? As much as I’d be disappointed not seeing Awesome Kong in TNA Wrestling anymore, I don’t think this is something that can just be swept under the rug.

On the flip side, I find it almost comical that TNA’s best storylines are happening out of the ring. Forget about watching TNA Impact just follow these guys and girls on Twitter. Heck, I get more information about TNA Wrestling from Dixie Carter’s Twitter account than I do by watching the shows.

BTLS vs. Awesome Kong, six sides of steel, let’s make it happen TNA!

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Sunday night, TNA Wrestling presented not only their first PPV of the new year, but also the first PPV within the Hogan/Bischoff era. With the addition of these two authority figures pressing the reset button of TNA, what can we expect from the new regime? Who is the huge superstar who made his debut? Let’s get to the review, and we’ll find out!

Genesis opened with a brand new set, featuring an upgraded stage, with a ramp way which stretched all the way to the ring apron, just like the setup from several original ECW events, as well as some old WCW PPVs. For the first time in nearly 5 years, TNA sported a new 4 sided ring. Way to separate yourselves from the competition TNA! To pen the show, Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff made their way to the ring, and welcomed everyone to the “All new IMPACT Zone”, which resulted in a chorus of boos. The TNa faithful preceded in a unanimous “We want 6 sides” chant! Hogan made a comment comparing the old 6 sided ring to a “Playpen”, to a very negative reaction. How dare he! Hogan basically tried to put over TNA, without much crowd support, and left it at that. So far, Hogan’s been in TNA for just a few short weeks, and he’s already been close to being booed out of the building several times. Go figure!

Amazing Red (C) Defeated Brian Kendrick To Retain His X Division Championship

Red’s mystery opponent was revealed to be Brian Kendrick, who received a very warm welcome from Orlando. Kendrick wasn’t a face in this match, but wasn’t really a heel either. He remained pretty neutral, although I was getting the vibe that he may end up being a heel sooner than later. All in all, this was a pretty good match, and a good way to set the pace for the evening, although I think it could have gone a bit longer, as it seemed to end at the same time it started to pick up momentum. One notable spot was Red hitting a beautiful hesitated sommersault plancha from the top rope to the outside onto Kendrick. In the end, Amazing Red retained his title with Brain Damage, his victory roll flipped forward into a modified wheelbarrow face buster, as a wheel barrel body scissors finisher. (***)

Sean Morley Defeated Daniels

Before this match began, Morley did his standard mic work, to another chorus of boos. Throughout the entire duration of the match, the crowd was pretty much entirely behind Daniels. All in all, this was an alright match, but seemed to be a bit too slow paced, mainly because of Morley. After some very formulaic stuff, Morley got the win with the Money Shot, to the dismay of not only the fans, but to the dismay of myself. In my opinion, there is absolutely no reason why Morley should have gone over the much younger, more talented Daniels here. (**3/4)

Tara Defeated ODB (Former C) In A Best 2 Out Of 3 Falls Match To Win The TNA Knockout Championship

As I have said in the past, I feel that these are not the two women who would be best to represent the face of the TNA Knockout division. They have fought many times in the past, but have yet to really impress me. Last night was no exception. Although it was certainly watchable, this match seemed to be very slow paced, and seemed to drag on, however it did involve some keen ring psychology.

Winner Of Fall Number One: Tara

Tara captured the first fall fairly quickly with a roll up.

Winner Of Fall Number Two: Tara

Tara also ended up winning her second straight fall, therefore winning the match and the title. She picked up the victory with the Widow’s Peak. (**1/2)

“The Blueprint” Matt Morgan and Hernandez Defeated The British Invasion (Former C) (Doug Williams and Brutus Magnus) To Become The New TNA World Tag Team Champions

This match was about what you expect between these two teams, featuring a very sufficient amount of action. Bot teams meshed well together, and hit several impressive double team maneuvers. After a moderate length matchup, Hernandez hit magnus with his Dominator variation, followed by a picture perfect Carbon Footprint courtesy of “The Blueprint”, allowing the three count, crowning new TNA World Tag Team Champions! As I’ve said many times before, I am a big fan of the newly formed team of Hernandez and Morgan, and really look forward to seeing what they bring to the preverbal table as tag champs in the new year! (***)

Desmond Wolfe Defeated “The Pope” D’Angelo Dinero

Although this was a really good match, the crowd seemed to be fairly dead at this point, which I believe hurt this match a little. Putting the crowd reaction aside, this was a good, solid wrestling match, with plenty of innovative submission maneuvers on the part of both men, as well as several near falls. Great ring psychology was implemented beautifully on the behalf of Wolfe, who religiously worked on “The Pope’s” knee throughout the duration of the entire bout, as a way to eliminate “The Pope’s” ability to hit the D’Angelo Dinero Express. After a good 15 minutes of solid wrestling, Wolfe got the clean win after hitting an explosive lariat taking “The Pope’s” head off! Glad to see Wolfe get some redemption tonight, and I look forward to seeing more of the feud between these two future world champs! (***1/2)

Beer Money, Inc Defeated “The Band” Kevin Nash and Syxx -Pac

As most of us already know, Scott Hall is currently suffering from sort of groin injury, so to my excitement, Pac replaced him here. Overall, this was another alright match, but was really hurt by the methodical Kevin Nash, who in my opinion seriously needs to consider hang up his boots for good. Pac looked fine though. As one would expect, the crowd was unanimously behind Beer Money. After another matchup filled with pretty formulaic action, the ending came when Hall started down the ramp, and then attacked a fan at ringside, ripped him over the guardrail and everything! Not sure if this was planned or not. With the distraction, James Storm hit Nash with a superkick, allowing Rude to score the pin! I’m elated that Beer Money was given the victory, and have gained some new found respect for “The Band” for helping these younger guys go over. (**3/4)

Ken Anderson Defeated Abyss

It turns out, as expected, that the mystery superstar coming to TNA was in fact Ken Anderson, who appeared on the entrance way, doing his notorious mic segment, and no he didn’t say Mr. Kennedy…Kennedy, he said Mr. Anderson… Anderson. I have no major problems with Anderson in TNA, however I don’t think he coming to TNA is reason to hype “A huge superstar” coming to TNA for weeks on end. Now if this were RVD or Paul Heyman or something, that would be one thing, but I can assure you, Ken Anderson is no RVD! Anyway, earlier in the evening Abyss attacked, his scheduled opponent, Bobby Lashley, in the back room, supposably trying to protect Bischoff. He was now to face a replacement, Ken Anderson. Overall, Anderson received a pretty positive reaction from the fans, although he did have his share of naysayers. This wasn’t a very good match in my opinion, for I wouldn’t even expect these two to mesh well together. They have completely different styles, and have no in ring chemistry. After what I though was a lackluster 10 minute match, Anderson got the pin with a shot to Abyss’ temple with a pair of brass knuckles. Looks like we may end up seeing Anderson as a heel, and rightfully so, for I’ve always enjoyed him a lot more as a heel than as a face. (*3/4)

AJ Styles (C) Defeated Kurt Angle To Retain His TNA World Heavyweight Championship

So far in the evening, nothing had been very satisfying, so by this time I was really craving some great wrestling action. All in all, I was a bit disappointed with this match, for I expected it to top their other past bouts, or at least match them. Although a very good match, this wasn’t exactly great. It seemed to be paced a lot slower, and was a lot less exciting than their recent match of IMPACT. It seemed like both men toned down their styles a bit, in order to add more ring psychology to the contest, and attempt to tell a more vivid story. You can thank Hulk Hogan for this! I don’t know about you all, but personally, I’d rather see a stellar wrestling match between two of the greatest wrestlers in this country, than have a bedtime story told to me! I’m not six years old anymore! For crying out loud, this is professional wrestling! If I wanted to listen to a good story I’d watch Cartoon Network! Alright, I’ll admit that I may have over exaggerated a bit, well maybe a lot, just now, but there is some truth to that theory. A big part of professional wrestling is telling stories in the ring, but in my opinion, there is no need to slow down the pace, contents of a match in order to do so. Now there are exceptions like spot fests and such, but in this case, it would have been the best decision to just go ahead and let Kurt and AJ go out there and wrestle at their very best, which tells a story in its own, and make for a very happy fan base. Isn’t that what it’s all about? Pleasing your fan base? Anyway, in the end of this match, Ric Flair, who had made his way down to the ring earlier, ended up breaking up a pin attempt fro Angle, by pulling the ref to the outside! While the ref was down, Flair prompted AJ to use the title belt on Angle, and AJ obliged. He hit Angle in the skull with the belt, and got the win! Flair and AJ posed to end the show. Looks like we’re now going to see a heel partnership between Ric Flair and AJ Styles, which could really do wonders to AJ’s persona. (***3/4)

Overall, I felt that Genesis was a very plain show, with nothing terrible, but nothing great either. Most of the card, with the exception of a few matches, seemed to be very methodical or slow paced. It’s hard to tell whether this is Hogan’s doing, or if some of the guys just happened to have an off night, but if this is Hogan’s doing, I truly think he’s making a major mistake, for all that will accomplish is blending in with the competition, and making is so that TNA is no longer a unique product. I can only hope that Hogan leans from his mistakes here, although that’s pretty doubtful considering it’s still undecided as to whether or not he learned from his mistakes in WCW of not. In conclusion, it is still far to early to tell, but if Hogan doesn’t start letting these guys just go out there in wrestle, this could potentially spell disaster, if not the end of TNA.

Overall, I’d give Genesis…

(6/10) And I’m being generous at that!

Todd Frizzell is from Columbus Ohio, and has been a huge professional wrestling fanatic for the last ten years. Todd is very interested in all aspects of pro wrestling, including what goes on when the cameras aren’t rolling. Todd is very excited to write about his passion, and will try his best to entertain and provoke the wrestling fans.

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